


Day One Hundred Seventy-Three || A Joyous Moment

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [173]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen, penpals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-16 23:27:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19328257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: What IS one supposed to do, meeting a penpal in person for the first time?





	Day One Hundred Seventy-Three || A Joyous Moment

Seven years... _ seven years _ she’s been waiting for this moment. Since that fateful day her sophomore English teacher assigned them all penpals from all over the world to help improve their English.

Hinata, oddly enough, wound up with someone from her ancestors’ lands. Though a second generation American, she and both her parents (as well as her sister) all bear names from Japan. Which, yes, got her teased (and goodness knows how many times both first and last have been mispronounced…), but she’s proud of her heritage.

Which meant a kind of excitement at being matched with a student from Japan. While the project would only last the semester, she hoped to learn more about the lands where her bloodlines came from.

Uchiha Sasuke was his name, as it would be said there. The same age as herself. At first, of course, it was rather...stiff. Formal. Especially since Sasuke’s English was a bit...well, by the book. Slang was nearly non-existent. Not that she minded. That was the point, after all: to give them someone to help practice the language with. They talked about their schools, their lessons, their friends, their family...all rather basic, predictable things. Sasuke would talk about his brother, Itachi...and she in turn spoke of her sister Hanabi, and cousin Neji. Sasuke also had a cousin, Shisui...and apparently many more where that came from. The Uchiha were rather populous in their city.

When Hinata admitted to knowing very little of her extended family, or of knowing many others with such heavy Japanese descent, it was then they hatched a plan: someday, he would come to America, and meet her in person.

Of course, back then - given how young they were - it felt like an empty promise. Surely it would never actually happen. After all, they’d stop talking once the project was done with.

...wouldn’t they?

As the weeks slipped by and Sasuke’s English improved, Hinata found herself melancholy. In truth...she didn’t want to stop talking. She’d grown rather attached to her penpal. So as their final letters were exchanged, she slipped an extra piece of paper alongside her letter. On it, her email was scribbled.

...would he send her something…?

When several days passed with nothing to show in her inbox, Hinata couldn’t help a feeling of disappointment. Maybe he hadn’t felt the same: that they were friends beyond the project. Had all he said only been because it was for a grade…?

Did she really not matter to him…?

Boredly scrolling the internet one night, she glanced to the pinned tab as her email gave a ding. By then, it had almost faded from her mind. Probably just more junk mail she didn’t give a hoot about…

...wait...she doesn’t recognize that address…

Is it…?

Barely daring to hope, she opened the message...and found a note from Sasuke at last! He apologized for the delay - he and his family had gone out of town and he’d been without any wifi. But he did indeed want to keep talking…!

Brightening, she wrote out a reply as fast as she could, insisting there was no need for an apology: that she was just happy to hear from him.

From then on, every few days almost without fail, the pair would exchange a message. At times it would dwindle as life got busy, or slow. When they were away. But even as they both left high school behind and began university, they kept up the correspondence. Tales of their new educations, new friendships, changes in their family.

And yet, oddly enough...neither of them ever had one particular topic to share.

Neither managed to date.

Hinata, of course, didn’t feel it all that odd. She was too shy, and (in her opinion) too plain to warrant a significant other. Besides, school kept her busy, and she didn’t need the distraction. But surely Sasuke would have found someone by then, right? He’d often complained about clingy girls that annoyed him, but...apparently none ever struck him as someone he’d tolerate enough to try dating.

...part of her was curious.

And part of her dreaded the day.

Hinata had convinced herself it was because if Sasuke ever found himself a girlfriend, he wouldn’t have time for her anymore. College was time-consuming enough, and they typically only had time for brief blurbs of updates between projects and exams. And she didn’t want to have to lose time talking to her...friend.

...yeah. Friend.

Then, finally, her graduation date was approaching. Sasuke himself had done so the year before, but her own degree had required a bit more time after a university switch resulted in lost credits. Teasingly, she asked him what he was going to send her as a congratulatory gift.

“Well, what do you want?”

“Hm...I don’t know. I’ve never been good at asking for gifts…”

“Neither have I. It feels...selfish. Too forward.”

“Exactly!” 

“But that doesn’t answer my question.”

“Sasuke, I was just teasing you. You don’t have to get or do anything for me.”

“But you sent me that card! The one you made?”

“It was just a card…”

“But you made it. It had your heart within it.”

The IM earned a pause, blushing behind the screen. Was that...what he meant? At times he’d still mix up words and meanings in English. Her heart was in it…? Well...yeah, maybe it was. He was her very good friend, after all. And friends make their friends nice things. Especially for something as important as graduation!

“You could make me one!”

“I’m no good at crafts...you would hate it.”

“No I wouldn’t! If you made it, then...your heart would be in it, too.”

A few minutes passed without reply. 

“...do you remember the promise we made when we first began to talk?”

...promise? “Um...you mean about you visiting?”

“Yes.”

“...yeah, I remember.”

“Would that be a good gift?”

Her jaw dropped. “You...you want to come all the way here for my...graduation?”

“Yes!”

“But...that’s so much more than a card! I would feel so bad!”

“You forget I want to see you, too. We could call it even, Hinata.”

...he wanted to see her…

“...if it’s not too expensive, or out of the way, and you...really want to, then...yes, that would be a good gift. The best gift I could ask for…!”

“I will look into it. Keep your hands crossed!”

Giggling at both the prospect and his slip of phrase, Hinata had collapsed back on her bed with a smile as wide as the horizon. He might be coming…! She might get to see him at last! After  _ so long _ …!

A week later, after exchanging dates and times and locations...it was set. He had his ticket, inbound a few days before her ceremony. And though it was still weeks away, her stomach filled with butterflies. What would it be like, finally seeing him in person? Sure, they would video call sometimes. She knew well what he looked like, as he did her. There wasn’t much mystery left between them, but...the distance no longer would be.

...would she...finally admit to how she felt?

...no, that felt like a cruel thing to do. He would be stuck here, after all, with her confession...if he rejected it, he couldn’t leave until his flight. It might ruin the rest of their meeting. And she couldn’t do that to him.

...and yet…

If he accepted it - if he felt the same - then wouldn’t there be no better time than being together at last? They could make the most of finally being able to see one another,  _ touch _ one another…!

...but...and yet...if they…?

Even now, standing waiting for him to emerge from his gate, Hinata battles herself. What should she do? What should she say? Even her outfit took hours to decide: a white sundress and matching sandals, little bag over her shoulder. Not too much, and...hopefully not too little. Nice, but...not  _ too _ nice.

...ugh, this is a nightmare…

But it’s too late to turn back now. People begin filing off the plane, and Hinata’s heart leaps to her throat. Short as she is, she struggles to see the moment he disembarks.

And then...there he is.

Bag over his shoulder, he looks around the airport curiously, and then starts scanning the crowd, a kind of anxiousness in his eyes. 

Trying to push her way forward, Hinata calls, “...Sasuke?”

With a snap, he looks to her.

...it’s just like those cliché movies.

Suddenly trapped, unable to breathe, she stares at him. He stares back. Then they take a step...another...walk, jog, run! Arms find her waist, bringing her close with a laugh. Going so far as to squeeze her and lift her up, he earns a surprised eep before setting her down.

...this is just like she imagined…! A joyous moment of meeting, at last.

Parting, they look to each other with faces pinkened with happiness...and a bit of embarrassment. 

“I...have waited so long to see you,” he admits, giving a flicker of a grin.

“Yeah...m-me too.” Her fingers start to fiddle at her front.

“It feels a bit...unreal, huh?”

“Yeah...it does.” Pause, then giggle. “I...I-I dunno what to say!”

“Neither do I. You’re...shorter than I thought you’d be.”

Her cheeks puff in a pout. “Well...you’re taller!”

Sasuke laughs. “Maybe I should pick you up again? Give you a better view?”

“N-no! I’m j-just fine here on the ground!” Her hands wave insistently.

“Well, then what would you have me do?”

“Um...we need to go get your luggage, right?”

“Yes...just one bag. I travel light.”

“Ah...o-okay.”

...another pause.

“Would you...show me the way?”

“Of...of course! Here, it’s -” As she gestures, something warm touches her hand.

It’s...it’s his hand. Enveloping her own as he waits to be led.

Pale eyes stare at it.

“...is this...not okay?”

She flounders. “Uh...n-no, that’s...that’s fine…”

“Good…” He gives her a soft smile. “...because I have wanted to do that for a very long time...Hinata.”

Pink creeps back into her cheeks...and then she gives a giddy smile in return.

“...yeah...me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I...really like this one xD Maybe not as well written as it could be, but I had a rather busy day, so...as usual, that means writing late, and I'm a lil tired lol
> 
> I love the concept of penpals becoming friends and falling in love x3 So of course I had to do that lil trope with these two, haha! Otherwise tho...not much to say, I guess. I'm...pretty tired, and tomorrow will also be busy.
> 
> So on that note, I'ma hop off - thanks for reading!


End file.
